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| Marianne Evans |
The best part about being a writer? There are
no boundaries.
This
morning, I found myself in Nashville, Tennessee with the current ‘it’ couple of
Christian contemporary music, but they’re having a tough go of it at the moment.
A few weeks back, I celebrated Christmas in London with the delightful Colby
family. This is my second trip abroad to pay them a visit. Oh…and did I tell
you about the sea-cliff wedding I attended in Ireland earlier this year? I
danced reels and sang karaoke with four fantastic girls who have become dear
friends of mine. It was absolutely fabulous.
Okay,
okay, it’s time for me to ‘fess up. These journeys took place not in real time
but within the fertile soil of my imagination, prompted by characters that live
in my heart and story lines that bubble in my soul until they’re released into
the cyber land that’s known as my computer.
Every
writer is different in how they approach their craft and their lives. Me? I
love to travel. I’m starting to believe I was born with some form of wanderlust
because I’m drawn by fresh sights, new cultures and experiences. In lieu of
physical travel, I love to pour over videos, travel guides, pictures and
websites that transport me to a different time and place. This both fills me
and prompts me as a writer because in my writing universe, the settings for my
stories become a character. I draw upon setting to immerse my reader within the
world I create—with visuals of sweeping mountains, with the scent of roasting
chestnuts, with the texture of sea-spray against a cheek, or the sound of
church bells peeling across a valley.
As an
added bonus to this process, I feel shackles break free when I engage myself in
my stories and let the words flow. When I sink deep into setting, character and
experience (aka: story arc) I find myself heartbroken or healed, angry or
rejoicing, in tears or in laughter…
There are no boundaries. (Click to Tweet!) There’s joy in the writing journey no matter what chaos my
characters might encounter, because God’s hopeful, grace-filled hand guides my
pen to the outcome He envisioned for the story from its beginnings.
How about
you? What inspires you? How do you unchain yourself from the day-to-day and lose
yourself in the craft of storytelling? I’d love to hear all about it!
~~~~~
Marianne Evans is a multi-award-winning author of
Christian romance and fiction. Her hope is to spread the faith-affirming
message of God’s love through the stories He prompts her to create. Devotion,
earned the Bookseller’s Best Award as well as the Heart of Excellence Award.
She also earned wins for Best Romance of 2012 from the Christian Small
Publisher's Association and the Selah award for best Novella of 2013. Happily
married and the mother of two, Marianne is a lifelong resident of Michigan who
is active in a number of a number of Romance Writers of America chapters, most
notably the Greater Detroit Chapter where she served two terms as President.
~~~~~
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| Jodie's Song by Marianne Evans |
Nothing fills Jodie Cunningham's spirit
like sharing contemporary Christian music and scriptural insights on her
morning drive radio show at KWJD. But lately, she’s overwhelmed and depleted by
family circumstances that have led her from Dallas to Angel Falls, Texas and
Heart's Haven apartment complex.
Kevin Mitchell is the groundskeeper at
Heart's Haven—a place famous for angelic intercession and loving connections.
His uncle owns the facility, but he's ailing. Kevin eagerly chips in, and as he
prepares the grounds for a spring wedding, he meets Jodie. They begin to work
together to make Heart's Haven sparkle.
But just as Kevin succeeds at coaxing Jodie's
heart to bloom, tragedy strikes in a double dose that tests both their strength
of faith and the love they've found.
